False Additives in Canned Meats as a Source of Food Allergens

The introduction of undeclared ingredients into a food product formulation can lead to serious health problems, especially in people with allergic diseases. Identification of the composition of a food product helps to prevent possible negative consequences of the influence of allergic additives. The present study was carried out by the histological method using the example of canned meat as the most frequently falsified product. Plant-based protein products and thickening food additives were found in many samples. Conclusions are made about a high level of counterfeiting of this type of product, including allergens, which is a risk factor for human health.

Draft Genome Sequences of Nine Bacillus Strains and Two Weizmannia Strains Isolated from Live Dietary Supplements and a Cultured Food Product

We present the genome sequences of nine Bacillus isolates and two Weizmannia isolates from 10 different dietary supplements and one cultured food product. Strains of these species have been associated with health benefits when ingested by humans, due to their ability to survive the stomach’s acidic environment and colonize the intestinal tract.

Sustainability and authenticity: are they food risk relievers during the COVID-19 pandemic?

PurposeThe study jointly investigates sustainability and authenticity concepts in the food context during the COVID-19 outbreak with a fourfold objective: (1) understanding whether sustainability and authenticity are equivalent concepts in consumers' perceptions; (2) advancing knowledge on the role played by them about food frauds' perception; (3) investigating whether these concepts are considered as “risk relievers” by consumers, (4) comparing the concepts to understand which one has a greater weight on the consumer's perception.Design/methodology/approachThe study adopts a Combination of a Uniform and a shifted Binomial distribution (CUB models) on data gathered in Spain between June and August 2020 through an online questionnaire.FindingsThe findings reveal that: (1) consumers perceive sustainability and authenticity as different concepts in the food context and (2) as two important indicators of fraud protection of a product for consumers; (3) besides, authenticity is seen as a “risk reliever” in buying a food product, as well as sustainability, (4) although results underline high uncertainty in the latter case.Originality/valueBy considering that the COVID-19 outbreak seriously threatens food safety, security and nutrition, this research elucidates the relevant role of food sustainability and authenticity concepts as “risk relievers” in terms of food frauds and negative issues related to COVID-19.

Life cycle inventory data for the Italian agri-food sector: background, sources and methodological aspects

Purpose For the development of any life cycle assessment study, the practitioner frequently integrates primary data collected on-field, with background data taken from various life cycle inventory databases which are part of most commercial LCA software packages. However, such data is often not generally applicable to all product systems since, especially concerning the agri-food sector, available datasets may not be fully representative of the site specificity of the food product under examination. In this context, the present work investigates the background, sources and methodological aspects that characterise the most known commercial databases containing agri-food data, with a focus on four agri-food supply chains (olive oil, wine, wheat products and citrus fruit), which represent an important asset for the Italian food sector. Methods Specifically, the paper entails a review of currently available LCI databases and their datasets with a twofold scope: firstly, to understand how agri-food data is modelled in these databases for a coherent and consistent representation of regional scenarios and to verify whether they are also suitable for the Italian context and, secondly, to identify and analyse useful and relevant methodological approaches implemented in the existing LCI databases when regional data are modelled. Results Based on the aforementioned review, it is possible to highlight some problems which may arise when developing an LCI pertaining to the four Italian agri-food supply chains, namely: 1. The need for specific inventory datasets to tackle the specificities of agri-food product systems. 2. The lack of datasets, within the existing DBs, related to the Italian context and to the abovementioned supply chains. In fact, at present, in the currently available LCI DBs, there are very few (or in some cases none) datasets related to Italian wine, olive oil, wheat-based products and citrus fruit. The few available datasets often contain some data related to the Italian context but also approximate data with that of product systems representing other countries. Furthermore, the present study allowed to identify and discuss the main aspects to be used as starting elements for modelling regional data to be included in a future Italian LCI database of the abovementioned four supply chains. Conclusions The results of the present study represent a starting point for the collection of data and its organisation, in order to develop an Italian LCI agri-food database with datasets which are representative of the regional specificities of four agri-food supply chains which play an important role in the Italian economy.

An Overview of Molecular Dynamics Simulation for Food Products and Processes

Molecular dynamics (MD) simulation is a particularly useful technique in food processing. Normally, food processing techniques can be optimized to favor the creation of higher-quality, safer, more functional, and more nutritionally valuable food products. Modeling food processes through the application of MD simulations, namely, the Groningen Machine for Chemical Simulations (GROMACS) software package, is helpful in achieving a better understanding of the structural changes occurring at the molecular level to the biomolecules present in food products during processing. MD simulations can be applied to define the optimal processing conditions required for a given food product to achieve a desired function or state. This review presents the development history of MD simulations, provides an in-depth explanation of the concept and mechanisms employed through the running of a GROMACS simulation, and outlines certain recent applications of GROMACS MD simulations in the food industry for the modeling of proteins in food products, including peanuts, hazelnuts, cow’s milk, soybeans, egg whites, PSE chicken breast, and kiwifruit.

Towards Sustainable Shifts to Healthy Diets and Food Security in Sub-Saharan Africa with Climate-Resilient Crops in Bread-Type Products: A Food System Analysis

Massive urbanization and increasing disposable incomes favor a rapid transition in diets and lifestyle in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). As a result, the SSA population is becoming increasingly vulnerable to the double burden of malnutrition and obesity. This, combined with the increasing pressure to produce sufficient food and provide employment for this growing population together with the threat of climate change-induced declining crop yields, requires urgent sustainable solutions. Can an increase in the cultivation of climate-resilient crops (CRCs) and their utilization to produce attractive, convenient and nutritious bread products contribute to climate change adaptation and healthy and sustainable diets? A food system analysis of the bread food value chain in SSA indicates that replacement of refined, mostly imported, wheat in attractive bread products could (1) improve food and nutrition security, (2) bring about a shift to more nutritionally balanced diets, (3) increase economic inclusiveness and equitable benefits, and (4) improve sustainability and resilience of the food system. The food system analysis also provided systematic insight into the challenges and hurdles that need to be overcome to increase the availability, affordability and uptake of CRCs. Proposed interventions include improving the agronomic yield of CRCs, food product technology, raising consumer awareness and directing policies. Overall, integrated programs involving all stakeholders in the food system are needed.

Fortification of cassava starch with coconut residue: effects on flours’ functional properties and products’ (Tapioca meals) nutritional and sensory qualities

Consumers are show interest in plant-based by-products due to their potential health-promoting properties. Coconut residue is food waste from coconut milk that is potentially rich in bioactive compounds, protein and dietary fibre. The effects of substituting cassava starch with coconut residue on the functional properties (bulk density, water absorption and swelling indexes), proximate composition, the energy value of flour, and sensory characteristics of tapioca grit's meal were studied. Cassava starch was mixed with coconut residue powder in five formulations that had 0, 10, 20, 30, and 40% of coconut residue powder, before being made into tapioca grits. The results showed that the bulk density, water absorption and swelling indexes decreased, whilst protein increased with the increasing addition of coconut residue. The colour of tapioca meals did not have any pronounced change in colour due to added coconut residue. Sensory results showed that tapioca samples fortified with 30% coconut residue was the most preferred with ranking in terms of aroma (8.7), overall acceptability (8.7) and willingness to buy (8.6) compared to other samples. Fortifying cassava starch with food waste like coconut residue improved the protein and fibre contents, and enhanced value addition and food product (tapioca meal) sensory quality.

Methods for determining color characteristics of vegetable raw materials. A review

Food product quality defines a complex of food product properties such size, shape, texture, color and others, and determines acceptability of these products for consumers. It is possible to detect defects in plant raw materials by color and classify them by color characteristics, texture, shape, a degree of maturity and so on. Currently, the work on modernization of color control systems has been carried out for rapid and objective measuring information about color of plant raw materials during their harvesting, processing and storage. The aim of the work is to analyze existing methods for determining color characteristics of plant raw materials described in foreign and domestic studies. Also, this paper presents the results of the experimental studies that describe the practical use of methods for measuring food product color. At present, the following methods for determining color characteristics by the sensor analysis principle are used: sensory, spectrophotometric and photometric. These methods have several disadvantages. Therefore, computer vision has found wide application as an automated method for food control. It is distinguished by high confidence and reliability in the process of determining freshness, safety, a degree of maturity and other parameters of plant raw materials that are heterogeneous in terms of the abovementioned indicators. The computer vision method is realized in the following systems: conventional, hyperspectral and multispectral. Each subsequent system is a component of the preceding one. Materials presented in the paper allow making a conclusion about the effectiveness of the computer vision systems with the aim of automatic sorting and determining quality of plant raw materials in the food industry.